A closure can connect two straps of an item of clothing, in particular the wing end portions of the back band of a bra, on one of which is arranged an overall female closure part that includes a plurality of female closure elements arranged in rows, and on the other of which is arranged an overall male closure part that includes at least two male closure elements that can be moved into force-fitting/form-fitting engagement with female closure elements from one row of the female closure part. In this case the closure elements are arranged in each case on a textile base strip, which in basic form is rectangular, acts as a carrier and serves for fastening the respective closure elements on their associated band wing ends, which overlap in their end regions in the closed configuration.
These types of closures are known, for example, by WO 2010/046488 (US 2010/0101058).
In the case of the known closures, the male and female closure elements are realized as plastics material parts that, in each case, are arranged on the one side of their associated textile material web, which forms the contact layer of the back band of the bra arranged on the body of the wearer, and are held on the textile web by way of counter pieces that are arranged on the respective oppositely situated side of the associated textile web, wherein the closure elements are welded together with the counter pieces, which have points that penetrate through the material web, wherein the points form bridges between the parts that are welded together, the bridges passing through the textile webs. One type of manufacture of the female and male closure elements that is also possible and provided is in such a manner that they are produced in a single injection molding operation on the textile webs that support them, i.e. they are not welded on next to each other, but are produced, as it were, right from the beginning as an integral part.
In the case of these types of closures that are intended for corsetry, as a rule it is desirable to develop the closure region, in which, for example, the wing ends of the back band of a bra abut against each other, in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. It is currently not possible to use the same textile fabric that also forms the visible side of the respective back band for the textile covering of the closure elements, as for this purpose edge regions of the band supporting the closure elements are folded around the back band of the bra and are sewn to the back band. This method of operation, which implies numerous operations, is awkward and also results in the closure having a relatively large thickness in the overlap region of the male and female closure parts, which also disturbs the overall visual impression. This applies at least when the bra is worn so as to be visible, as is the case, for example, with a swimsuit. But also whenever the bra is worn as an undergarment, i.e. underneath an item of outer clothing, the increased thickness in the closure region on the visible side of the item of outer clothing can cause bulges that impair the visual impression.